


[Oldfic] It Is What It Is

by TheFanficMaster



Series: Old fanfics [17]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-15 05:38:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8044474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFanficMaster/pseuds/TheFanficMaster
Summary: [Oldfic] Juudai forgets Johan's birthday. With a little help from Manjoume and Asuka, he goes to set things right.





	[Oldfic] It Is What It Is

Yuuki Juudai was an awkward bud of nerves as he stood outside the door separating him from his best friend, Johan Andersen. Juudai hadn't seen him (or anyone else really) for several months until that very day, but that was hardly the reason why he was so worked up at the moment.

In fact, a vast majority of it came from a conversation he'd had with Asuka that morning, while visiting her in the city.

" _It's good to see you, Juudai," Asuka smiled as she sat down at the opposite side of the table from him in the small café on the corner of the street, receiving a bright smile in return._

" _You too. I'm sorry for calling you out like this so early—"_

" _No, it's fine. I have some papers to grade and company coming over later in the afternoon, but it's nothing I can't take care of later. You're not inconveniencing me," She insisted, taking a sip of the coffee that she'd ordered—normally she wouldn't purchase one and would instead brew her own at home, for it was cheaper—but since it was a friend outing, she'd made an exception. Juudai, however, hadn't ordered anything. She had a good feeling that the issue was money and was tempted to buy him a meal, but not only did she want to avoid embarrassing him, but she truly didn't have that much money herself at the moment._

" _So, what have you been up to?" Asuka asked, finally breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Juudai chuckled, as if he was just as relieved as she was that the suffocating atmosphere was broken. She wasn't exactly sure why everything seemed so awkward between them, but she had an inkling feeling that it was because of her and she resisted the urge to play with the tips of her hair in embarrassment._

" _I've been here and there. I was in America recently—the lifestyle there is so different. And the food wasn't exactly the best."_

_She chuckled at his half attempt at casual conversation. "Not enough shrimp for you?'_

" _Not really no," He admitted, smiling back at her. His backpack—which was seated on the floor—suddenly shifted and Pharaoh popped his head out, mewing pathetically up at them._

" _Pharaoh? Juudai, you know that animals can't come in here, right?"_

" _Yeah…but I couldn't just leave him…"_

_Asuka shook her head with exasperation, amused. "Come on, we can go back to my apartment. I can brew you some coffee there and I'm sure we can find something for you—and Pharaoh—to eat."_

" _But didn't you say you had company coming over-?"_

" _It's no big deal. He comes over a lot, so it's not like he can't deal with it," Asuka waved off his concern, gathering her things and waiting for Juudai to do the same. When they paid and exited the café, Juudai finally coughed, voicing his question._

" _He?"_

" _Oh that's right, I forget that you haven't been around much," Asuka smiled at him, silently berating herself for her forgetfulness. Perhaps several years ago the situation would have felt different for her, but things had changed and she didn't feel that way for him anymore. "I'm…sort of seeing someone right now. We haven't exactly announced it officially, but…"_

" _Ah, I see. Congratulations."_

" _Thank you," Luckily, her apartment hadn't been too far from the café and so they'd arrived quick enough to avoid any more awkward small talk. Juudai smiled as he looked around the small, yet somehow spacious place that Asuka occupied. It was neat and tidy, exactly what he expected from her._

_His smile widened even further when he noticed a familiar pair of black boots on the doormat, realizing abruptly what exactly Asuka had met by seeing "someone." He wasn't exactly surprised per say—he knew what the concept of dating was, although he hadn't experienced it for himself. He was happy for them._

_Asuka, it seemed, had noticed the boots as well. She flushed slightly before sighing heavily and walking toward the kitchen, where Juudai noticed quiet bangs could be heard. Obviously her guest had invited himself in. Chuckling lightly at her embarrassment, Juudai bent down to let Pharaoh out of his backpack. The cat stretched and mewed happily, content to finally be allowed to roam a bit after his long morning nap._

" _Manjoume, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to come over this afternoon?"_

" _My meeting was canceled, so I thought I'd come over and make you breakfast."_

" _You should have at least called first," And even though he couldn't see either of them, Juudai could picture the scene perfectly in his head—Asuka with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring half-heartedly at the man in her kitchen. "I have company right now."_

" _I know. Fubuki called me."_

" _Did he now?"Asuka sighed, obviously irritated at her brother's fond meddling. "Well, thank you for making breakfast. Do you mind if he eats with us?"_

_An irritated huff, proof that the man hadn't changed all too much from the last time Juudai had seen him. "Of course not. He's already here isn't he?"_

_Juudai decided that it was the best time to peek his head in."Sorry to interrupt, but do you have anything that Pharaoh can munch on? He won't stop meowing."_

_Just as he expected, Manjoume was standing in the kitchen, leaning back on the counter with a somewhat huffy air about him. Asuka was standing a few feet away, appearing a little irritated, but otherwise perfectly content. The smell of food was clearly discernible now that he was looking for it, but at the moment he was more concerned about getting his cat friend fed._

" _Oh yes, sorry I forgot," Asuka hurried to the cupboards, hurriedly looking around for some canned fish. Meanwhile, Juudai greeted Manjoume._

" _Hi, it's been a while, ne?" Juudai smiled, not at all put off by Manjoume's somewhat rough air. "I was going to track you down next. I heard you'd been touring, but I wasn't sure if you were back yet or not."_

" _Where did you get that information from? I've been home for weeks," Manjoume reached over absently and flipped the meat he was cooking with practiced ease. Juudai found himself wishing he was a better cook._

_He was about to respond that he'd seen it printed in a newspaper, but when Manjoume turned around to focus on his cooking again, it was clear that he wasn't actually expecting an answer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Asuka bend down to feed Pharaoh, who mewed happily at the attention._

" _Anyway, I'm surprised you're here," Manjoume said suddenly, Asuka humming with agreement as she stood up, leaning against the counter. Juudai stared at them with confusion, not understanding what they were talking about._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Oh geez, don't tell me you forgot?" Asuka laughed then and Juudai realized that he should probably be embarrassed. "I suppose it's to be expected, you never were very good with dates and now with you busy all the time…well…"_

" _Um…what's going on?"_

" _So you did forget," Asuka shook her head with exasperation. "Juudai, its Johan's birthday today. We assumed you'd be over there today, rather than down here with us."_

" _Oh…I did forget…" Actually he couldn't remember Johan ever telling him when his birthday was. That stung a bit, but he supposed it was deserved—he hadn't exactly been playing a large role in the other's life since he'd left Duel Academy. The fact however, that everyone else knew and he didn't, was a bit unnerving and he shuffled nervously._

" _Honestly, you're hopeless," Manjoume sighed and turned, beginning to serve the food out on the table—Juudai wondered when the table had been set, since he hadn't been paying attention. The food revealed itself to be some kind of steak—of course that would be Manjoume's style of breakfast._

" _Well, never mind that. Why don't you sit down and eat and then we'll talk about it."_

" _All right," He hated to admit it, but he felt really guilty. Incredibly so, in fact. He hadn't even thought about Johan's birthday—it hadn't even occurred to him that he didn't know the date. He was sure that Johan knew his well, so why hadn't he shown the same care? He knew when his other friend's birthdays were—in fact, he had them documented in his phone so he wouldn't forget—but somehow he had completely disregarded Johan's._

_After finishing the food—Manjoume was a decent cook, it turned out—Asuka pat him on the shoulder with a smile. "Why don't you go see him? I have things to do so I can't go with you, but I can walk with you to get him a card."_

" _But I don't have much money…" He admitted with an embarrassed smile, feeling more like a child than he'd felt in a long time. Asuka was giving him a look that made him feel like crawling into a hole for a brief moment—it was that sisterly irritated expression that she often directed at her brother._

_Was that what Asuka was to him? A sister? It certainly seemed so. She was a precious friend he didn't want to do without—Manjoume too. All his friends were precious to him in their own way._

_And yet here he was neglecting one of them._

" _Oh for the love of—" Manjoume cut himself off, probably resisting the urge to kick him out of the place altogether. They were good friends, he and Manjoume, but that didn't mean that Manjoume didn't occasionally get fed up with him. Now seemed to be one of those times. "Here's a few dollars. Please do yourself a favor and buy some food to go with that card so you don't have to come mooch off of us."_

_Asuka—Juudai noticed—was giggling quietly and trying to hide it with her hand. Juudai resisted the urge to chuckle himself as Manjoume shoved the money in his hands, face flushed up the tiniest bit. Manjoume may act like he didn't give a damn, but it was really his roundabout way of showing concern._

" _All right, I guess we can do that."_

… _._

And that brought him back to the present, still standing nervously outside Johan's door. The card he'd bought felt so light in the bag hanging off his arm that he resisted the urge to check to make sure it was actually there and not a fragment of his imagination. By this time it was later in the afternoon and Juudai hadn't even called first to announce his arrival (by shadows of course, it would have taken far too long with a train or bus or anything else and he didn't have the money for it anyway). What if Johan wasn't even home?

And really, why was he so worked up over this anyway? This was Johan—his best friend, someone who knew him inside and out without even having to try. They were so similar it was actually frightening—or it would have been, if it hadn't felt so natural to him. They fit together with such ease that Juudai felt like he'd known him all his life, even though it had really only been a short time.

He could feel Pharaoh beginning to wake up inside his backpack, mewing with annoyance as Juudai continued to stand outside in the admittedly chilly weather. Of course he'd also forgotten to put on his warmer jacket before coming here, being in the hurry he was, so now that left Juudai standing outside and feeling like an idiot.

Pharaoh mewed again.

"All right, okay, I'm knocking," to his surprise, it only took one knock before the knob rustled and Juudai came face to face with Johan, who looked to be on the verge of laughing.

"J-Johan?"

"I was wondering how long you were going to stand out here staring at the door," Johan chuckled at him; cheeks flushed with the temperature difference as he hurriedly tugged Juudai into his warm home. "You're freezing, honestly…"

"Yeah, I wasn't thinking about the weather…" Actually he hadn't been thinking at all. He was glad Manjoume wasn't around to laugh at his blankness.

Immediately after the door closed, Juudai heard the unmistakable cooing in his head that announced the appearance of Hane Kuriboh. Ruby appeared then as well and within seconds they were chasing each other around the house, voices chattering in their own language in what sounded like joyful cries.

"You guys," Juudai chuckled at their playfulness, setting his bag down on the floor. Immediately Pharaoh pawed his way out of it, mewing to voice his pleasure at being inside once more—he didn't particularly like the cold.

"So what brings you here, Juudai? It's not like you to visit out of the blue," Johan asked while fluttering around the living room—he appeared to be cleaning up the remains of what was probably a mid-afternoon snack.

"Actually…I heard it was your birthday so…" Juudai held out the plastic bag instead of finishing his sentence, knowing the object would finish it for him. Johan smiled at him, setting the empty mug down on the coffee table instead of finishing his trip to the kitchen, and instead walked up to him and accepted the bag from Juudai.

"Thank you, Juudai. You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but…"

Johan frowned, eyes shimmering with concern. Juudai felt even more nervous for reasons he couldn't identify, seeing those expressive green eyes looking at him like that. He'd never been able to explain it, but he'd always had a special attachment to Johan's eyes; it felt like Johan knew everything about him just by looking at him. It was a bit unnerving, but at the same time it made his stomach flood with strange warmth.

"Juudai, what's wrong?"

Juudai sighed, followed by a light chuckle—of course he would notice. The present hung from Johan's left hand, now completely ignored.

Before he could answer, Johan had already ushered him over to the couch, where he sat down gratefully. His legs suddenly felt tired and—not for the first time—Juudai wondered if he needed more practice at transporting himself long distances since he seemed to feel so drained afterward.

Johan sat down next to him, gently setting the unopened gift down on the coffee table—Juudai wasn't offended, it wasn't much of a present anyway and they both knew that it wasn't what really mattered. Those eyes were looking at him again and Juudai smiled back at him, the honest truth spilling from his mouth in an instant.

"I just feel bad. I'd actually forgotten it was your birthday…and when Asuka and Manjoume had to tell me…well…I felt like a bad friend."

"That's all?" Johan sighed, his smile tired, but honest, and Juudai suddenly felt stupid for worrying. "Juudai, you're busy with your own life. I can't exactly expect you to zoom halfway around the world for me at any given time. I'm not that important."

'But you are important," Juudai blurted out before he could even think about it—his heart had been screaming those very words and they had just tumbled out of his mouth. He didn't really understand what they meant really—of course Johan was important to him, but for some reason this seemed more significant, like it needed to be said aloud.

Johan looked shocked for a split second for bursting into amused chuckles. Juudai rubbed the back of his head, feeling embarrassed for reasons he didn't understand.

"I know that, Juudai," Johan smiled at him, his voice taking on a strange tone, a somewhat breathless sound that he'd heard a few times before, but had thought nothing of it. Now he found himself focusing on it, intrigued and fascinated, wondering why he was suddenly thinking about the fond sigh Asuka had when she said Manjoume's name.

"But that wasn't what I meant. I meant that your journey will always be more important—those lives take first priority. We can't expect any different. But we'll always be here for you to lean back on and come home to—you're only human after all, Juudai," Johan laughed again, reaching out to pat Juudai on the shoulder. "Stop trying to be everybody's hero—you're our friend, that's all that we need from you."

"Johan," Juudai smiled, a strange, gentle feeling erupting in his chest. He didn't know why, but for some reason he'd needed to hear those very words. Sure, he was a hero, but he was a person too—he forgot that sometimes, while he tried to balance himself between the two. It wasn't that he hadn't known of his friend's acceptance before, but it nice to hear it nonetheless.

"Anyway, now that's taken care of," Johan turned to his gift, finally pulling the card out of the plastic bag. He seemed excited to see it, even though it wasn't much by any standards, merely a cheap card, since much to Manjoume and Asuka's insistence he'd spent a lot of the money he'd been given on food for himself and Pharaoh. Said cat was currently dozing on the doormat, where for the first time Juudai noticed Amethyst Cat had taken up residence, back straight and proud like a statue he had seen once, eyes staring unblinkingly at them both. Juudai held her gaze with a fond smile, knowing that she was trying to see through him, to Yubel, who had been silent and courteous throughout the duration of the day.

She stirred now, interested, and Juudai smiled when he felt her warm presence inside his mind. She didn't usually speak when he went to visit Johan—there were still hostilities between her and the Gem Beasts after all and that wasn't a wound that could be healed quite so quickly—but she was always there, giving him silent nudges of encouragement. Juudai had the feeling that Yubel knew the answers to everything he was feeling and was silently laughing at him, but before he could ask Johan's happy exclamation cut him off.

"Ah, thanks Juudai! It's a nice card—I'll keep it on my mantel," Johan smiled and stood up to do just that—placing the card so that it was partway open on the mantel above the fireplace, which Juudai finally noticed was lit. He'd been so focused on Johan that he hadn't even considered where the intoxicating warmth was coming from.

"Asuka helped me pick it out, I went to go see her and Manjoume this morning," Juudai stretched out on the couch, knowing that he was welcome to do so without being invited.

"Oh? I saw them a few months ago. They seem happy together, really I think it's been a long time coming, although I admittedly don't know either of them very well," Johan commented, sitting back down next to him. Juudai turned slightly to see if Amethyst Cat was still watching, only to find her gone—whatever test he'd been subject to, he'd apparently passed.

"I was a bit surprised, but I'm happy for them too. Manjoume looks so much happier," And he did, truly. It was nice to see his somewhat uptight friend let down his guard like that. It was something he'd been try to get him to do for years. "They both ganged up on me to come see you, not that I wouldn't have already."

In fact, not for the first time Juudai wondered if they'd both been trying to tell him something. They'd practically shoved him onto Johan's doorstep, armed and ready with a gift, and mind in a flurry to match the weather.

"Juudai, would you like some hot chocolate?" Johan offered and Juudai noticed again that strange, breathless tint in his friend's voice. It was important—he knew it was and now, he had a feeling he was starting to understand why. He wasn't really surprised—it had always been there, in the back of his mind. It just hadn't been necessary to acknowledge. In fact, he had a feeling that it still wasn't necessary. He had a feeling that Johan knew anyway—when he looked at him with those eyes, he felt like Johan could know everything if he wanted to.

Juudai mumbled a quick yes and Johan smiled softly at him, as if knowing what he was thinking. Juudai returned the smile, feeling warm and comfortable in ways he couldn't begin to explain. The acceptance was instantaneous—there was no question about it. Johan knew, just like he always knew, and always would know. It didn't need to be said.

And perhaps that's all there was to it after all.


End file.
